Let's state the obvious: The Darkness worship Queen. But The Darkness' second album, One Way Ticket, is no mere rehash of Queen—there's Journey in those guitars. A touch of Rush. AC/DC. Meat Loaf. In fact, as Nation of Ulysses would say, all the dead ghosts of rock and roll course through this Darkness CD. For a thoroughly modern sport, rock and roll has always been mired in yesterdays. The Darkness have long dipped into nostalgia, but this time around, the well runs dry. Songs like "Knockers" and "One Way Ticket" tackle their share of treasured adolescent themes (breasts and cocaine), while more of the album is concerned with the trappings of adulthood: baldness, sobriety, relationships.

At its best, The Darkness is dumb fun. The wit and unself-conscious power chords of "English Country Garden" and "Is It Just Me?" recall the band's best. But The Darkness have lost their appetite for destruction, content with a soggy '70s sandwich. While there is a sunny attitude to One Way Ticket, even the most resolute cheer is not enough to withstand the constant onslaught of gratuitous extras, from pan flute to sitars to bagpipes. Is this penchant for overdecoration another misguided homage to Queen? At the time of its 1975 release, A Night at the Opera was touted as the most expensive album ever recorded. While The Darkness make all those studio hours sound pricey, Queen was able to create a sound that is priceless. Opera is the grandeur—and humor—of glam rock at its best. Every song has endless precise layers. Like the Kinks, Queen works well with different genres, from prog rock to music hall to pop and take-no-prisoners metal. And of course, there are the jaw-dropping guitar flights and soaring vocals, all with a knowing wink. This album puts the classic in classic rock, as much for the sense of humor as for the relentless perfection of technique, performance and production. It has the songs that the movie and advertising industry rely on—"Bohemian Rhapsody," "Best Friend"—and the equally brilliant proto-metal "Death on Two Legs," "Sweet Lady," and "I'm in Love With My Car," wrapping up with a tight and shiny take on "God Save the Queen." Whether or not you believed in a thing called love, Queen will take you beyond belief.